Avatar The Last Cycle
by EndComplete
Summary: Currently on what is probably indefinate Hiatus. Sorry.
1. Chapter 1: Lan

**Avatar: The Last Cycle**

**Lan**

The sun rose slowly on the city of Ozai, it's feeble early light only barely piercing thru the thick clouds of smoke that rose like pillars from the riverside factories. Even as it reached the height where it's light changed from red to clear white, little penetrated thru the mass of tall towers that loomed fifty and sixty stories above the pavement. The streets were always in shadow, and as the day stretched on and the shadows shifted, those that lived in the shadows skulked along with them.

Lan, a young boy of thirteen, was now one of them. He was sitting on an empty fire escape, two stories over with a view of the station below. As he watched, a diesel powered train appeared out of the mist, it's horn howling ominously, and came to a reluctant stop in front of the platform. Hundreds of people, dressed in traditional changshan and qipao, or in the new sleek suits and skirts of modern fashion, filed on in a sudden rush. Minutes later, the train pulled out again, the smoke from its engine rising up to envelop Lan, watering his murky orange eyes. The smell from it, the smell of burning, of fire, brought back sharp memories.

"_Run Lan!" The headmaster had shouted, crouching in pain on the ground. The men in the fashionable brown coats and ominous white armbands kicked him, sending him on his back, and the larger, muscled one turned toward him, a grin on his face. The other children had already fled, the orphanage empty but for him-they weren't interested in anyone else. Lan had turned and ran into the hallway at the back, running for the playground, hoping he could jump the tall fence and escape into the city, when he heard a loud sound from behind, the sound of massive rush of air-_

_RrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSHHH_

_And a stream of fire filled the hall, the tiny hairs on his right arm singeing away. Screaming in terror, Lan had fallen to the ground. He turned around and watched as the Firebender approached, a tiny pilot flame held in the palm of his hand. _

"_Now, there's no need to make me get angry now kid." He said in a casual voice, as if they were simple acquaintances meeting on the street. "I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just gonna take you back to my boss. _He'll _be the one to decide if you get hurt." While he laughed at his own cleverness, Lan waited for him to get close, waiting for his only chance. He was no bender, and no fighter, but he had been taught some basic wushu, before he came to the orphanage-_

_He flung himself up with the palms of his hands and suddenly swung out a foot in a rapid kick. The brute pulled back, surprised but unalarmed. Lan snapped his foot back then shot it straight back out, aiming for the man's gut. _Strike, strike, strike again, give your opponent no time for response. _The old teachings rang in his head. He surprised himself with his own quickness, ferocity. _

_But it didn't matter. _

_The older man was bigger, stronger, and much more skilled. He blocked the first few strikes then sent Lan flying back with a light, effortless shove. Lan hit the ground like a sack of flour and felt his breath bounce out of him. Coughing, he rolled over, then felt a shoe come down hard on the small of his back. _

"_Hey, I said that's enough." The man sounded annoyed now. "Stop your struggling." From back at the entrance, Lan could hear his headmaster still begging the to let him go. He was shouting, asking for mercy, then suddenly there was a loud shot- a gun fired. _

_The headmaster went silent. _

_Everything froze in Lan's vision. He felt as if all the worlds colors had suddenly inverted. He could hear his heart throbbing in his chest. The foot on his back rose, then slammed down again., but he barely felt it. Something was rushing thru him, like a great wind inside his chest. It suddenly went cool, and he could has sworn his heart was freezing, then he felt a tremor rise up from the ground and ripple thru his whole body. Hundreds of years worth of images ran thru his mind in seconds. _

_Finally, he felt a searing heat rising from inside him. _

_There was a crack of light and the ground rose up and slammed the Firebender back. His partner, gun in hand, rounded the corner and stared in shock. Lan loomed before them, still just a scrawny kid, but there was a sense of looming presence within him now, and they felt as if they were staring up at a massive figure. His eyes went white, light shone from within them, and when he opened his mouth to speak, white light shone from it as well. Tiny jets of fire burned from hands, and he began to slowly turn in a graceful arc. As he did, the flames burst into huge balls of fire…_

The next thing Lan knew, he was lying in the charred ruins of the orphanage, with only the vague memory of his actions. The two kidnappers had fled, spurred on by bursts of massive fire, and the orphanage had burned to the ground-what was left of it after the shockwave of compressed air had blown out the walls. Since that day, one week ago, Lan had skulked alone in the streets, hiding in shadow, living like a stray dog, watching every alley for the White Bands, trying not to think about what had happened, what _he _had done.

Despite his efforts, he could not close out the one word that continued to echo again and again in his mind, rising up out of the silence like a half-remembered song, too faint to sing and too insistent to ignore. One word.

_Avatar…_


	2. Chapter 2: Jiang

**Avatar: The Last Cycle**

**Jiang**

"There it is Miss. City of Ozai. Greatest city in the world. If you're a gangster, anyway." The kid rowing the boat laughed at his own crack, smiling over at Jiang. She dutifully smiled in response. He was about seventeen years old, so he was at least one year her senior. He looked like your average Continental, but he was dressed in a shabby set of clothes that were nonetheless in the newest fashion. Form fitting khaki trousers, a white buttoned shirt, and a brown vest. A gold(colored) pocket watch hung on his belt, and his hair was spiked back and dyed a light blonde. Jiang found him fascinating simply because of his attire, which no one wore in the South Pole. It was obvious though that he was much more interested in her than she was in him. He hadn't stopped badgering her since she'd hired him this morning.

"So, you said your from the Southern Water Tribe right?" He asked. Once again, she found herself suppressing a laugh at his strange, nasally accent. Big City people really were different. "Don't get me wrong, it's just that, you don't really look like the one's I've seen before." He said, pointedly. His remark made Jiang glance over at the water flowing by them in the river. With a casual wave of her hand, she flattened out the worst of the ripples, making a passable mirror. It was true, she did not have the darker skin and jet black hair typically associated with her people. Her hair was a light brown with a hint of red in it, and she kept it short but for the two long strands that hung out on either side of her face, weighted by tiny blue beads near the ends. Her eyes, at least, were like those of her people, cool blue pools, wide and round. She turned away.

"My father was from the Earth Kingdom…that is, the Continent." She said, reminding herself to _try _and not sound like a bumpkin.

"Uh huh." The boat rower said. "So, can you do any of that water moving stuff? I heard a lot of people still can use it down there." Apparently, her earlier use of her Bending had been too subtle for him to notice. Not surprising, since he'd had his eyes on other parts of her than her hands.

"It's called Waterbending." Jiang said. She lifted a palm up, and a bubble of river water floated up with it, hanging suspended in midair in front of her. A tiny golden carp was swimming within it. The rower's eyes opened wide at the sight. "And yeah, I know a bit." She grinned, then tilted her fingers down, and the water (and fish) flowed back into the river.

"This is our stop right?" She asked. He snapped out of his stare glanced over at the dock as if he'd just realized it was there. They were at a small, deserted dock out on the suburbs of the city proper. She had no desire to be dropped in the middle of downtown.

"Oh yeah…gimme a second." He hopped out of the boat and tied it to the dock, then reached down and gave her a hand up. Once she was on the dock, he hopped back in the boat and handed up her bags. She paid him the stated fee, but didn't leave, noting he seemed to have something to say.

"Well Miss, it was a pleasure transporting you." He said, suddenly sheepish. "My name is Lee. If you, uh, want someone to show you around the city sometime, you can find me at the docks most days. I'd be happy to help." She smiled at him, her face changing from cool beauty to warm cheerfulness in an instant.

"Thanks Lee. But I don't think I'll have the time to take you up on your offer. I'm in town for one reason only, and then I have to return home. Anyway, it was nice meeting you." She turned away, leaving him staring after.

"Jiang, I have had news from the city." Two weeks ago, and still the memory of her mothers words weighed heavily in her heart. There had been no need to specify the news as bad. Her tone of voice was enough to make that obvious. Besides, what news had they ever received from outside that _wasn't _bad?

"What is it mom?" She'd asked, trying not to think of the what she feared. If she thought about it, it might come true.

"Balku, he's…" She paused at the sound of her son's name, which she hadn't spoken in two years. "He's gotten into some kind of trouble. It's not very clear, but he's sent a letter…"

"I will miss you Jiang. Are you certain about this?" Her mothers eyes had been dry, but full of fear as she saw her off three days later at the village harbor. Jiang was packed for a long trip, and all of the villagers who weren't occupied had come to see her go.

"I'm the best one to go." She'd said, putting on a cheerful façade. "He's my brother. I'll know how to look for him. And I'm one of the best Waterbender in the village. I'll be able to look out for myself. It'll be okay, you'll see."

"I know, but…every time someone goes to that city… well, no one ever comes back." Her mother said. Jiang got a brief glimpse of her father in her memories, walking away and boarding a ship from this very spot, then her brother, brash and arrogant at sixteen, following after him two years ago.

"It'll be different this time. It's me." She smiled. "You know _I'm _not going to fall in love with the Big City. They don't have any decent food there." They had both laughed in the way one laughs at a funeral, quietly and unconvincing. Then they had hugged, and she said her goodbyes to the other villagers, promised her master she'd continue practicing her drills, and boarded the ship.

Now, after weeks of travel, first by the sea then by train and finally by tiny fishing boat, she had arrived at the big city, the tomb of her father and home of her wayward brother.

She wished she were anywhere else.


	3. Chapter 3: Calm

**Avatar: The Last Cycle**

**Calm**

Two blocks from the casino, the White Bands appeared. They were strolling along nonchalantly, far behind him, just going the same general direction as him. His back was turned, he hadn't gone anywhere near them, and they were showing no undue interest in anything his direction, but despite all that Calm felt a sudden trickle of sweat pour down his brow at the sight of them. His hands began to shake, so he shoved them in the pockets of his forest green suit (pressed and sharp). Then, thinking quickly, he withdrew one and pulled his fedora hat down low, obscuring his face. _Yeah, cause they can see thru your head and back at your face. Get a freakin' grip Calm. _He told himself. At least he'd never gone in for that head shaving business his master had always been going on about. He had a full head of hair (slick and stylish of course) so at least the wouldn't be attracted by the sight of the sun glinting off his melon. Thinking of his master just made him sad though. So he tried not to think about it.

He turned at the corner, and once he knew he was out of sight, broke into a trot for a brief moment, getting a bit further ahead of them. _There's no way these guys know who I am._ He told himself. They're just out for a little night life. You see these guys all the time, muscling around like they own the place, waving their White Bands in everyone's faces… who am I, huh? Nobody, that's who, that don't know me from nobody. Sure, maybe I got something they want, maybe something important, I mean, they freakin' _killed _the Old Man trying to get it, but there's no way, I mean, absolutely no way they know who I am. I barely ever even visited anymore. It's not like I still trained with the guy. Blowing wind out your fists is all well and good and all, but I got better things to do with my time. So obviously, this is just a coincidence. Everything is going smoothly.

"Mr. Chow?" A gravelly voice from just ahead of him made Calm jump half a foot in the air, and he shot back down to reality in time to see a big, muscled man in a black suit standing just ahead of him, obviously having just rounded the corner. Behind him were two more young men, both dressed in the new look-all three with white cloths tied around their upper arms.

"Sorry, uh, wrong guy." Calm said, stressing his city accent.

"Please. We can abstain with the appearances I think. We know who you are." The man said. Calm noticed that, all of the sudden, there weren't that many people in the street. The ones that were there were leaving quickly. Behind him, he heard two sets of footprints coming closer. _Don't look behind you don't look behind you don't look behind you don't look behind you. _

He looked.

The two White Band gangsters were strolling up. One of them had a metal pipe and was casually tapping it against his leg. The other had a pair of brass knuckles. He turned back to the three in front. The guy in the middle was really, really built. Solid, hard, and tough. _Earthbender _tough.

"Look kid, you know what it is we want. Don't make this any harder than it has to be. Tell ya what, I'll pay you for it, nice and square. You ain't gonna get a better deal if you hold out. What do ya say, kid? You really don't have any reason to be makin' enemies here do ya?" The big man gestured with his words, numerous rings gleaming on his fingers. Calm's hands were shaking again…but with anger this time, rather than fear. This man's suave, casual act was starting to get on his nerves. No, it really got on his nerves. No reason to make enemies? Here's a reason for ya…

"You killed the Old Man." Calm said, glaring daggers at him.

"So what?" The big man laughed. "He was a nobody. A has been. A washed up old loser with no students left and no skill to speak of. Didn't even need a Bender to do 'em, what I heard. He told us you walked out on him, and hadn't even been around in months. You gonna pretend like you care about him now?"

"No…" Calm shrugged, suddenly cavalier. He smirked, a handsome, winning smile, and tipped up his hat. "Ha! You got me. Yeah, who really cares about that old has been. Yeah, I got your scroll, right here in my pocket." He patted it, for effect. "Whatever your offering, go ahead, I got no use for the lousy thing."

The big man smiled, and reached into a coat pocket. He pulled out stack of money- the paper bills that had replaced coins a decade ago- and held it out for Calm, his other hand outstretched for the scroll. The codex his master had entrusted to him, the last time he had seen him alive. Well, the only reason he had come to see him that day was to give the thing back. It meant nothing to him…

"Here ya go." Calm pulled a bit of paper out of his pocket… then suddenly swung his arm sideways. A gust of wind came out of nowhere and picked up the paper, sending it spinning away into the sky. Everyone moved at once, shouting, pulling weapons, but Calm moved faster, snatching the cash out of the man's hand then blowing the two behind him out into the street with a quick sweep of his leg. The air followed it, knocking them off their feet, and he followed through with a circular swing of his hands, sending them flying. He ran as fast as he could, Bending the air behind him to spur him on, but he heard a sound like a massive hand scooping out a section of the pavement.

He glanced back, and saw the big man standing in an Earthbender stance, a head sized chunk of the sidewalk suspended in front of him. He slammed his palm against it, and the rock went flying- straight towards Calm.

He planted his feet, turned around, and slipped instinctively into his old training stance. _A circle. Move as a circle. A circle cannot be broken. _He watched the boulder flying towards him in slow motion, the sound of it roaring onward filling his ears, along with the sound of his heart pounding in terror. _I am so not cut out for this fighting stuff. _He thought numbly.

He spun to the side, dodging the boulder with ease.

The next one caught him in mid turn.


	4. Chapter 4: Bao

**Avatar: The Last Cycle**

**Bao**

The mark was striding down the crowded street, a look of satisfaction on his face, a moderately pretty girl dressed up in traditional clothes on his arm, her face covered in too much makeup. The tide of humanity parted as they came thru, making way for the rich out of the desire not to have to look at them. The mans clothes were of the latest fashion and clearly expensive, and he was a wearing a ridiculously tall hat and carrying a mahogany cane. Bao thought the two of them looked ridiculous, but hey, they also looked happy. A careful glimpse confirmed the minor bulge in the mans right pocket- that was where he kept his wallet. Whistling a cheerful tune and maintaining the carefree look of an unremarkable 15 year old kid, Bao altered his course so that he was walking steadily towards the rich man.

As he got closer, the woman on his arm noticed him, but gave him only a brief look before forgetting his existence. He noticed that as he got close enough to see through the mask of makeup she was actually a bit more than just _pretty_. Bao had never understood the attraction to so much makeup. The rich man hadn't noticed him at all, which was good, but not entirely necessary. When they're paths had almost intersected, Bao lifted one bare foot and subtly tapped it against the pavement.

As a tiny bump rose up in the concrete, the rich man stumbled forward, about to fall and pull his hanger on down with him, but Bao was there to catch hold and steady him. The man smiled and thanked him, and he just smiled and nodded and faded away into the crowd-the man's wallet in his hand. As soon as they lost sight of him he slipped down an alley to count his earnings.

On the one occasion he had been caught by the police, he had been lectured for a boring long time that thievery was no way to use the ancient art of Earthbending. During the time in which he had been on probation, forced to visit with a officer every week to make sure he wasn't falling back into his habits, there had even been some talk about getting him a proper Sifu as a way of teaching him discipline. But you need money for that, and the only money Bao had was what he stole and the minor cash gained from his older sister's job. And now he didn't even have that.

Ever since he could remember, Bao had been able to Bend, but only sporadically, and often randomly. As such, it had mostly only been an annoyance to him and his sister, causing minor damages around there apartment and misunderstandings with the other tenants. For years, he had been able only to pull up rough chunks of stone and immediately lose hold of them, until one day he had wandered onto the roof of the apartment building and caught sight of the huge house on the other side of the tall wall just a block away from his own home.

Drawn by the thought of someone living in a life so different from his own, he had snuck up to the side of the large wall, in awe at the size of the mansion, and heard voices coming from the other side. Climbing a nearby tree, he caught sight of a young girl, maybe ten years old, dressed well but comfortably inside the huge garden. There was an old, but powerful looking man with her, wearing traditional Earthbender garb. Bao watched, fascinated, and it became apparent he was instructing her in the ways of Earthbending, very carefully and slowly. She was obviously a beginner, but Bao watched with interest, trying to remember everything he said.

The lesson was over before he'd even gotten comfortable. His heart sinking, Bao sighed and dropped off the tree and fell back against the wall, bored. He was just about to head off to the train station to hop a ride when he heard the old man's voice carried on the wind, saying, "-again tomorrow at one o'clock." Bao smirked, and strode down the dirt alleyway, kicking at the dirt every few steps.

The next day he was there ahead of time, and he had hauled along with him a big piece of sheet metal which he propped between the branches, allowing him to sit or stand, and even copy the stances the little girl in the garden was going through. For an hour he watched and listened, though he could only hear when the wind blew his direction. _This is pointless. _A whiny voice in the back of his mind said. _Your just a poor street kid. There's no way you can learn to Bend. This is boring and a waste of time. _Just a few more minutes, then, and I'll go. He responded, again and again, and never got around to leaving.

About halfway through the lesson, he was standing up, perched on his tiny platform, legs spread in a horse stance, when the wind whipped up and he lost his balance. He flung out a hand and caught the nearest branch, but the metal beneath him lifted up by the wind, then slammed back down with a metallic clang. Bao dropped to the platform and held it down, huddling in silence, trying to still the frantic beating of his heart. He watched, eyes twitching, as the Earthbending master inclined his head ever so slightly towards Bao's hiding spot. Bao thought he saw a slight grin on the old man's face, but he turned back to his student and paid him no attention. _He must have not seen me. _Bao thought. He did notice though, that after that incident the old man always spoke twice as loud when demonstrating a new stance or form.

_A lot of good it did me. _Bao thought. For the next three years, Bao had struggled through his makeshift knowledge, completely aware that he was getting it all subtly wrong somehow, but knowing this was the closest he was going to get to actual training in his lifetime. He trained alone, in secret dirt lots and rooftops with broken chunks of concrete. He gave up wearing shoes years ago, and could, if he concentrated, feel tiny tremors rumbling through the earth when the trains passed by half a mile away. His Bending had become invaluable in his street thievery, though he was certain the old man would not approve if he knew. But after all of that practice and training, when the day had finally come that he could have used his gift for something substantial, his shaky skill had failed him.

His sister had been no one special. She didn't have any important friends, she didn't have any enemies. The thought was ridiculous. That didn't save her when the White Bands came to her door.

"Don't worry about me Bao. This will all be over soon. I promise." She had smiled confidently, and he had let himself hope. From his hiding place under the stairs, Bao had watched in terror as she had stood up to the men, shaking her head, refusing whatever it was they had come for. Bao's fist shook in fury, wishing he could at least hear what they were saying, when, suddenly, with no warning or comprehensible purpose, one of the men had reached casually into his pristine white suit and withdrew an ugly piece of black metal- a barrel, a trigger, a wheel full of bullets. Two loud blasts had rung through the air- he'd heard that quite clearly.

When they had gone, he had crawled out, his eyes dry for the simple fact that he could not believe what had happened, and fell to the floor beside her. He shook her, begged her to be alright, but there was no response, no final words, no last motivational speech against the hopelessness of life.

In the distance, the trains were pulling in.

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Okay, that's it for the prolouge. Chapters from here on out will probably be longer, and less introspective. Hope your liking it so far, let me know what you think.


	5. Chapter 5: Declining Legacy

Avatar: The Last Cycle

Declining Legacy

Someone groaned, and a red hot spark of pain shot through his head. His mouth felt like sandpaper. His throat felt like he was trying to choke down barbed wire. His head felt like a beaten drum. He was getting tired of thinking of analogies. _Oh man, did I get drunk again? _Calm thought, thinking of his last remarkable hangover. Then he heard a voice from a few feet away, and carefully pried one eye open. Calm was lying on the floor, and in the next room, through an open door, he could see two young men. Both were wearing White Bands on their arms.

Memories suddenly shot through his head at the speed of light, and his eyes opened wide, fear suddenly throwing every other more minor emotion out. _They caught me. _He remembered. _Oh man. This is not gonna end good. _The two men in the other room were sitting at a small folding table, playing cards. One was a scrawny, weasel faced man with a dirty gray suit. He looked like the kind of guy who'd try to knock over a convenience store and make such a huge mess of it he'd end up in a shootout, a high speed chase, maybe a hostage situation or two, and then end up pleading temporary insanity after it. _Not-so-temporary stupidity is more likely. _Calm thought. The other man was a little odd looking, with slightly darker skin and charcoal gray hair pulled back in some kind of wolf's tail. He looked odd, kind of foreign, though of course here in Ozai city you saw all kinds of people. He was wearing a leather jacket, and there was a short bone weapon of some sort sitting on the table next to him. It looked like some kind of cross between an axe and a short chopping sword. He talked back to the other guard, chatting amiably, but there was a look in his eyes, a look of faint but certain distaste. _He probably just cant stand the guy. _Calm thought.

Fortunately for him, neither of them seemed to be paying much attention to their captive, and the door between them was only partly closed, so they probably couldn't see his face. Taking care not to move his body much, Calm scanned the room, desperate for some avenue of escape. The room was dark, small, and windowless. A small huddle of machinery lay in the opposite corner, near the door. Calm recognized the big rusty cylinder as a hot water heater. _That'd be nice, if I were a Waterbender. _He thought. He was lying on the cold concrete floor in a corner, and the rest of the room was taken up mostly by stacks of wooden boxes. There were no other doors out. All in all, not a reassuring situation. The foreign-looking one was pretty built, but the scrawny one didn't look so tough. _I'm pretty fast. I can probably get he jump on them, take em down quick like, and get right out of here. _Calm told himself. _Unless of course they're benders… or they got guns… or more guys in the other room…ok, so maybe I got like, a twenty percent chance of getting past them. _Faced with the hopelessness of the situation, he sighed. The foreign looking one instantly turned at the sound.

_Oh crap, why'd I do that? _

"He's awake." The guard said. "Go and tell Huan." His voice was deep, but soft. The scrawny guard seemed used to taking orders. He left through a door somewhere on the left side of the room. "You can get up now." The man told him. Now that he was facing him, Calm could see the guard was only a bit older than him, eighteen at the most. Groaning with the effort, Calm struggled into a sitting position, his whole body sore. His hat was gone he noticed sadly. He'd paid a lot of money for that hat. Well actually, he had won it in a bet. But it was valuable hat. _Somebody _had paid a lot of money for it.

"Word of advice." The foreigner said. "Huan wants something from you. Just give it to him. You'll give it up eventually anyway. You might as well save yourself some trouble." The man sounded more sad than threatening.

"Yeah, well, I never was one for taking the easy way." Calm snapped, immediately regretting it. This was no time to be shooting off his mouth. He gingerly pressed his fingers against his side where the boulder had hit him. He gritted his teeth at the pain. Lifting the suit and (ruined) white shirt out of the way, he could see a purple and yellowing mottling of bruise more than a foot wide.

"Well, cant say I didn't warn you." The wolf tailed man said. He stood up as the door in the other room opened again. Calm heard a muffled voice coming from beyond it. It was quiet, but when it spoke the rest of the world quieted too, so that it seemed to stand out like a drop of blood in a bank of snow.

"Balku, bring him in."

"Sure boss." The foreigner, who was apparently called Balku, grabbed his weird axe-sword thing and gestured for Calm to come. Seeing no alternative, he followed, his bones aching as he climbed to his feet. Through the small room, dominated by the card table, and into a wide open space. It was warehouse, with all of the boxes shoved up against the walls to leave an open area. Three massive windows in the high up walls allowed in the gray light of the coming dawn. There was a large chair opposite the main entrance, as if this were some kind of audience chamber. A young man was sitting there, but Calm was more interested in scanning the room for any method of escape. A semi circle of White Bands were blocking him off from the rest of the room, and leaning against the wall next to the door was a single man in a jet black suit and expensive fedora hat. It had a line of white felt around it's rim, matching his white armband and pristine gloves. Under the shade of his hat's brim the man's face was all in shadow, except for his wide grin. Hanging at the man's side was something completely innocuous, and therefore extremely ominous in the situation- a canteen.

"Don't bother trying to escape." The soft yet striking voice spoke again, from the large chair at the center of the circle. "Tsun would certainly enjoy it, but you, I guarantee, would not." Calm faced the man in the chair. A pair of burning torches on either side of him lit his face clearly.

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The building was old and carefully designed, architecturally shaped to give the impression of importance and wisdom. A pair of lionturtle statues flanked the doors, worn by age and rain, and darkened by the shade of the tall forty story building that dwarfed the library on the right side. Above the main entrance was a statue of an owl, a mythical creature that was one half of the common owlbear. There was a steady stream of pedestrians bustling through the buildings wide open plaza, but very few actually entered or emerged from the building. Like the bending academies, the temples, and the ancient traditions of the continent once known as the Earth Kingdom, the library was largely neglected today, it's repository of knowledge unneeded in these modern times.

Lan crouched on the roof of a low building across the street, keeping low so that he would be unseen by all but the most perceptive observer. He considered what he was wearing- plain tan trousers, baggy and oversized as they were a hand down from an older orphan, and a black over shirt that hung down almost to his knees and was belted over. Both were noticeably dirty and scuffed, but weren't kids his age always like that? There was no immediately noticeable way to tell he was in fact homeless and destitute. They would probably not have him thrown out.

Lan dropped down into the alley behind the small building and emerged out into the street, keeping a careful eye out for any White Bands. He quickly passed over the plaza, smoothed down his unruly brown hair, and slipped into the library. The woman sitting at he front desk didn't even glance his way.

Inside the labyrinth of shelves and books, he eventually located a directory. The nonfiction section was on the third floor. When he reached it, he seemed to be the only one aside from a young woman restocking the local history section. He found his way to the world history section and skimmed through the titles, until he found what he was looking for.

The Avatar: Tales and History of the World's Greatest Benders. He snatched it off the shelf and plopped down onto a comfortable chair near the middle of the room. The cover illustration showed a tall, bald man with blue arrows tattooed onto his arms and head. His eyes were glowing, and he was surrounded by circles of floating stones, balls of fire, and a stream of water. Subtle brushstrokes implied that the air was whipping around him as well. He opened the book, skimmed the table of contents, and began to read.

He had planned to read only a brief explanation of the term "Avatar," but half an hour later he was engrossed, all his attention focused on the book. He was amazed at the stirring tales of near ridiculous uses of power- Waterbending to stop a five mile wide grassfire, Earthbending to raise a sunken city, Airbending to halt the advance of a deadly storm. Massive battles as well, an Avatar using lightning to strike down a rebel warlord in the midst of an army of twenty thousand. The non aggressive use of Bending to avoid a massive battle that nevertheless resulted in the death of great tyrant Chin the Conqueror.

Most of all, he found himself impressed by the exploits of a young boy, a year younger than himself, who mastered the elements in a single year and ended a hundred years of war. The author of the book had obviously been impressed as well. The section devoted to Avatar Aang were much longer than any of the others. Lan continued reading, devouring the text as a starved man would food, until he came to the end of Aang's story and yawned, realizing he had read for more than an hour. He stared, bleary eyed, at the illustration of Aang, standing beside his friend the Firelord, a cheerful, yet knowing smile on his face, and a shiver ran up his spine.

_There's just no way. _He thought. _There's no way I can be…one of them. I don't even know how to Bend! _And yet, the memory of the explosion came to him, the fire roaring from his hands, the air blasting out from his open palms, and the earth below rising up in response to his stomp. He, Lan, thirteen year old orphan boy, had destroyed a three story building in a matter of seconds. Two White Band thugs, professional fighters, _killers,_ had run from him in terror. And afterwards, thousands upon thousands of images had run through his head, blurred together, rushing by so fast that he was still trying to pick them apart days later. Faces of people he had never before seen, eyes glowing white, set in a long string, with him at the end, all watching him expectantly.

_What do they want from me? What is an Avatar supposed to do?_

Whatever was needed, according to the examples in the book. But the book also said that an Avatar wasn't trained until they reached sixteen. Not only that, the four Bending arts were supposed to come naturally to them, a product of the hundreds of times they had mastered them over the years. Whereas he had never shown any predilection for a single style of Bending. As far as he knew, neither of his parents had been Benders…although he knew very little about them. Besides, surely if he was the Avatar, this awesome collection of spiritual power, someone should know about it. Shouldn't there be somebody there to teach him? To tell him what he was supposed to do?

_Besides, if the Avatar is such an important part of the "Balance of the world," why haven't I heard of the last Avatar? In fact, I've never even _heard _of someone who could Bend more than one element before… _Glancing at the book, he turned it back to the cover page and checked the publishing date. He was surprised to see the book had been written only ten years ago- which meant the previous "incarnation" of the Avatar should be recorded. _Let's see what happened to them…_

He started with the Avatar directly after Aang, who had died peacefully at the age of one hundred and eight (technically, two hundred and eight, since he had been frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years, a portion of the story Lan was sure must have been simply myth). She was a girl of the Water Tribe renowned for saving a stretch of coastal city from a massive tsunami as well as preventing a war of imperial expansion by the then powerful Northern Water Tribe. After that, though, it things seemed to be going down hill. The next Avatar, a remarkably powerful Earthbender, had also achieved great deeds, but he was quoted on his deathbed saying his greatest regret had been failing to prevent the shattering of the ancient Earth Kingdom into dozens of smaller city states. The next Avatar had not lived long enough to be fully trained- she was assassinated by her own people, who were waging a war of conquest with the eastern most city states.

The next Avatar had witnessed the break up of the Fire Nation and the decline of the great Water Tribes. The Avatar after that had been more of a guru than a Bender, and had written a long pessimistic treatise on the decline of the Bending Arts and the loss of ancient knowledge and custom. On and on, as the world grew more contemporary and the old traditions became more and more ignored, the once all important Benders became rare, and then nearly unseen. As Bending grew rarer, people turned to technology to support them, and as technology increased, the Bending arts became again more rare. The last Avatar had died fourteen years ago in Ba Sing, shot to death by a mafia organization she had been trying to put down. It seemed she had never completed her training. In fact, no Avatar had been capable of reaching the all powerful "Avatar State," the link to one's own past lives, in over a hundred years. The author of the book wrote that many of the Avatar's exploits and abilities were no considered nothing more than primitive mythology, and though the author did not share this outlook, there was no proof to show for the truth.

Suddenly, Lan shivered in the library couch, the book lying forgotten at his side. If he was right, if the voice inside his head was something more than common madness, than he was the heir to a once grand, but declining lineage. He felt as if the whole world had suddenly been dropped on his shoulders. _How am I supposed to fix the world? How am I even supposed to learn to Bend? _

The library was silent, and no answers came.

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The torches lit the visage of a powerfully built young man. He was perhaps nineteen years old, but his eyes had a depth to them that implied wisdom beyond his years. But while those hard gray eyes shone of wisdom, they gave no hint of mercy. Calm found himself itching to look for an escape path. The man stood up to speak to him. He was tall, slender, but strong, his body obviously honed and perfected by years of arduous training for the martial arts. He wore a simple black overcoat with a golden thread belt, and long black hair that fell past his neck from a topknot at the back of his head.

When he spoke, it was with a surprisingly soft tone that sounded like silk over steel, the kind of voice that had no need to threaten or intimidate, because the consequences of refusing his orders were obvious and needed no explanation. "My name is Huan. The White Band's are my brothers. Calm Lee Chow, I want you to join us."

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_This chapter was a bit darker than the tone I had planned for this story, but I felt it was important to clarify the state of the world and how the society of the Avatar world has declined. Also, the previous four chapters were quick little prologues of sorts, to introduce the characters. This is more like the length most chapters will adhere too. _

_Thanks for reading, I appreciate any comments/criticisms. See you at the next chapter. _


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